Hill County Farm Service Agency accepting ECP applications for wildfire damages

From FSA

  Hill County USDA Farm Service Agency is approved to implement the Emergency Conservation Program to address damages caused by wildfires. 

ECP is a cost share program that assists producers with the cost of recovery activities required to restore the agricultural land to pre-disaster conditions. ECP sign-up begins immediately and ends on Jan. 16. 

The Hill County FSA Committee has approved ECP funds to help restore permanent fences damaged by wildfire. Cost-share funding will be based on the age of the fence, with FSA paying 100 percent of the cost of repairing a fence from zero to five years old, 75 percent for a fence six to 10 years old and 60 percent of a fence 11 to 30 years old.

ECP will not cover replacement of fences more than 30 years old.

Eligibility for cost share assistance is based on a minimum of $1,000 of eligible damage. All requests for cost share assistance are subject to the availability of funds. 

Producers should call the FSA office in Havre at 265-6792 ext. 2 to schedule an appointment to sign up for ECP and should be prepared to provide the location and extent of damage to the fence, length of fence, average age of fence and estimated cost to repair the fence so FSA staff can prepare the ECP application prior to the scheduled appointment.